The early detection of bodily fluids in some situations can be important to the well being of a person. For example, the early detection of any leakage of blood around the site of insertion of a dialysing needle during dialysis treatment, and in particular nocturnal dialysis, may be useful. The detection of other bodily fluids such as perspiration, particularly high levels of perspiration indicating hypoglycaemia in insulin-dependent diabetics, may be important for the wellbeing and care of that person.
Sufferers of enuresis, particularly in relation to nocturnal enuresis causing bedwetting, or diurnal wetting, can be assisted by the use of a detector and alarm unit that serves to wake the person when the presence of urine is detected. A number of disadvantages with many types of devices is that they can be too small to detect the presence of bodily fluid or they can be too large and cause discomfort for the wearer. Many are made from metal, printed circuit board material or other solid and rigid materials that can cause discomfort to the extent of causing significant irritation if they are in contact with the skin of the wearer. Further, some of these detecting devices are typically not durable or robust and need to be replaced after a short period of use.
It is a non-limiting object of the invention to provide a device for detecting bodily fluid which overcomes at least some of the abovementioned problems, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
It is a further non-limiting object of the invention to provide an apparatus for detecting bodily fluid and generating an alarm signal which overcomes at least some of the abovementioned problems, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.